In the Habs Room: Topline shining on both ends of the ice
Pittsburgh superstar Sidney Crosby had two shots on goal and failed to score a point.
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The Canadiens’ top line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Kirby Duck put points on the scoreboard, but they also do a good job of keeping the opposing top players from scoring.
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The Ducks set up Sean Monaghan as the overtime winner as Suzuki and Corfield scored goals on Saturday as the Canadiens beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4.
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Coach Martin St. Louis has matched his young top offensive line — Suzuki is a 23-year-old old man — with the opposition’s top line.
Evgeny Malkin scored the goal for the Penguins, but the team’s other superstar, Sidney Crosby, had two shots on goal and failed to score a point.
“I think the most important thing[for young people]is to have the opportunity to play against them,” St. Louis said. “You don’t always get the job done. When you do, you probably learn, and when you do, you probably learn. There’s a lot of progress in everyone’s game. Overall, young players can play against those guys.” We’re very organized, and I think that’s helped the young players compete with the elite players in this league.”
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Plus/minus numbers aren’t always the most accurate measure of a player, but there’s progress in Suzuki’s and Caulfield’s numbers. They were his one of the worst players in the league last season, but Suzuki is now plus-6 and Caulfield is plus-3.
“As a line, we feel like we can play anyone. If you’re in the offensive zone, it’s hard for them to score and it tires them out. That’s our main focus.”
The addition of Dach to the lineup is a big plus. He helped enable Caulfield’s goal by creating a net presence in front of Tristan’s jarry and setting up the winning goal. He’s not the center the Canadiens thought they’d get when they traded him in the draft, but he’s proving to be the perfect complement to his linemates.
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“He’s not playing games, he’s playing games,” St. Louis said. “As a player, when you understand that he’s going to get on base every shift and get home run balls. That’s a sign of intelligence, absorption, and adaptation because we’re coaching him. That’s our job, He’s doing very well.”
St. Louis said the move to the wing was beneficial for Duck. He also has less defensive responsibility, but Suzuki said Dak’s experience as a center allows him to help in lower positions.
“He’s playing free right now,” St. Louis said.
There was a lot of talk in the dressing room about consistency. Josh Anderson, who opened the scoring early in the first period, noted that the Canadiens had four lines to score and five different players scored on Saturday, with goalkeeper Jake Allen and Sam Montembaugh came on as a substitute and scored the win. surpassed.
With the win, the Canadiens improved to 8-6-1 on the season and finished fourth in the Atlantic Division with the Florida Panthers.
phickey@postmedia.com
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In the Habs Room: Topline shining on both ends of the ice
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